The Colorado Rockies have reminded everyone in North America the best time of year to be a hot team is during the postseason.

News photoChunichi Dragons catcher Motonobu Tanishige hits a two-run bases-loaded single in the third inning against the Yomiuri Giants on Thursday in Game 1 of the Central League Climax Series second stage at Tokyo Dome. KYODO PHOTO

The Chunichi Dragons produced a similar storyline on Thursday night, defeating the Yomiuri Giants 5-2 in Game 1 of the Central League Climax Series' second stage at Tokyo Dome.

The Dragons, who beat the Hanshin Tigers in the first stage, won their third postseason game in as many attempts and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series into Friday night's Game 2.

It was the first postseason game since 2002 for the Kyojin and their first game proper since Oct. 3.

Motonobu Tanishige delivered the game-winning hit in the third, a two-run single.

"It's a good feeling to win here on the road in this ballpark and in front of the Giants fans," said Tanishige in the post-game hero interview.

"I m glad this game is over, because with the Giants lineup you never feel comfortable, even with the lead, until the final out."

This showdown of southpaw starters Tetsuya Utsumi and Takashi Ogasawara didn't last long. Neither pitched after the fifth, with Utsumi's night ending after four. His counterpart worked one more inning.

Ogasawara earned the victory, allowing five hits on one run. He fanned none and issued two walks. Hitoki Iwase, the Dragons' fifth reliever, earned the save, working 1 2/3 innings.

Utsumi gave up six hits. He yielded four runs (two unearned), four walks and struck out four.

With two outs in the fourth, Tyrone Woods, who walked in his first two at-bats, smacked a 2-2 Utsumi pitch for a towering homer to right. That made it 4-0. It was his 13th homer of the season against the Giants.

Yomiuri cut the lead to 4-1 on Osaka native Yoshitomo Tani's one-out homer to left in the home half of the fifth.

The Giants trimmed the deficit to 4-2 when Tomohiro Nioka, the first of two batters to single off Yuya Ishii to open the sixth, scored on Luis Gonzalez's fielder's choice off reliever Yoshihiro Suzuki. The next batter, Takuya Kimura, hit a flyout to end the rally.

The Dragons threatened in the first, putting Masahiro Araki (leadoff single) at second and Woods (base on balls) at first with Norihiro Nakamura at the dish.

The ex-Kintetsu Buffaloes player walked to load the bases. Lee Byung Kyu grounded out to first, ending the scoring chance. Utsumi threw 25 pitches in the 15-minute out-of-towners' first inning.

The Giants made some noise in the first, too. Michihiro Ogasawara and Tomohiro Nioka drew two-out walks sandwiched around Lee Seung Yeop's double to left-center.

Shinnosuke Abe lined out to left on the first pitch from Takashi Ogasawara and the 34-minute frame produced a pair of big, fat zeros for the scoreboard — and plenty of early tension in both dugouts.

Chunichi simultaneously occupied all three bases again in the second.

The Dragons failed to score again, however, as the top of the second ended with Hirokazu Ibata hitting into a 6-4-3 twin killing.

In the third, with the bases again loaded, Tanishige went to the plate with a chance to shatter the deadlock.

He delivered, rapping a two-run single past the diving Nioka into center field.

In the eighth, Chunichi's Ibata hit a soft liner off Gonzalez's glove. The ball rolled into center field and Ryota Arai scored an insurance run for the gracious out-of-towners.

"It was a good atmosphere here at Tokyo Dome for our first Climax Series game," said Giants manager Tatsunori Hara. "It's just too bad we lost, but I think we can come back and win tomorrow night."